The Official Human Development and Psychology Newsletter

Main menu

Category Archives: Faculty News

Post navigation

In an exercise in exploring our own development, Human Development and Psychology faculty described their favorite books from their childhood and why they liked them so much. Take a look at our quiz to see if you can guess which faculty member liked which book. The winner will earn himself/herself a $20 gift certificate to the UWGB Bookstore.

You may have noticed a new name on the Fall 2014 Schedule of Classes. Teaching Middle Childhood and Adolescence and Family Development is our newest faculty member, Joel Muraco (pictured below). Human Development is thrilled to announce we will be welcoming him in August. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona, and he will bring with him great teaching, research, and community outreach/service experience – and with any luck even some warmer temperatures! We’ll have a formal introduction with many more details in the fall, but for now, thank you to all of the students who were involved in the interview process, and know you will have another great resource in Professor Muraco in a few short months. You can learn more about him now by linking to his current profile at the University of Arizona: http://cals.arizona.edu/fcs/grad/joel_muraco

In a feature new to this issue, we set out to ask the tough questions. What exactly are your faculty member’s favorite movies… and why?

Dr. Burns: What about Bob? because I think it’s funny and it has tons of psych humor in it.

Dr. Cupit: Reds because it reminds me of my parents.

Dr. Gurung. The Jungle Book: carefree jungle life and a great reminder to only care about the bare necessities of life. Plus, swashbuckling action and great tunes. A close second— The Princess Bride (see swashbuckling above).

Dr. Holstead: Love Actually. I’m a huge fan of romantic comedies, British accents, and Hugh Grant! And – the movie is really true – Love actually is all around!

Dr. Lanter: Bridget Jones Diary because I felt just like her when I was a study abroad student in Scotland!

Dr. Radosevich: The Color Purple for two reasons (1) I use to watch it with my mom anytime it came on tv; and (2) the strength that Celie eventually finds to stand up for herself is very powerful and inspiring.

Dr. Senzaki: Life is Beautiful because it’s funny and serious.

Dr. Smith: An Angel at My Table, which tells the story of Janet Frame, a New Zealand writer whose introversion was mistaken for mental illness. Filmed in NZ, it is a beautiful story about an incredible woman.

Dr. Vespia: None of these are probably the “best” movies I’ve seen, but my sentimental favorite is The Sound of Music because I grew up watching it on TV with my family and know all the songs by heart. My favorites for pure escapism and fun are some of the great fantasy/sci-fi series including The Lord of the Rings, the original Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones (skip 2 & 4, though), and Harry Potter. They have drama, action, humor, romance, and great special effects.

Dr. Von Dras: Woodstock, it provides a window by which to view the “coming-of-age” of late-adolescence/young adulthood. It also has great music, such as Richie Havens’ Freedom or Joan Baez’ Joe Hill, which reflect social issues and concerns that are still current and of ongoing interest.

Dr. Wilson-Doenges: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I feel like it defined my generation – or at least the geeks and nerds of my generation and it is the only movie I have ever watched more than five times and still love.

Hello from MAC C309! I just started my three year term as chair of Human Development, taking over after Dr. Vespia’s term. What this means is that we’ve switched offices (don’t worry, Dr. Vespia got to keep the candy dish). If you have any human development course substitution requests or issues/concerns, send them my way! Dr. Martin is still the psych chair if your issue is a psychological one instead. Wait, that came out wrong…